


Of chemistry and reactions

by tenebris_ash



Series: Peter Parkour [3]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), BAMF Peter Parker, BAMF Tony Stark, Flash Thompson Redemption, Gen, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Reaction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-02-21 15:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18704818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenebris_ash/pseuds/tenebris_ash
Summary: "What do they think?They'll think what they thinkHow do they feel?They'll feel how they feel"____Two days back, the students of Midtown High had thought of Peter as a harmless nerd. Two days back, they had felt that he couldn't ever fight back.It's high time they changed how they thought and felt.





	1. Night and Moon

**Author's Note:**

> I am BACK!! Yayyyy  
> I thank you all for the love you gave me in the form of kudos and comments. Consider this a proof of my gratefulness. I have written this from multiple POVs .  
> If any of you want your favourite character here then you are free to comment his/her name!  
> Also  
> Disclaimer: I don't own marvel. Tony stark, loki and widow would've never died otherwise.  
> P. S. A lot of thanks to Amber, who helped me in actually posting this by motivating me to write it a bit faster. Love you❤

Life moved on. Cindy however, could not. How could she forget the day she had almost died? The bruises on her arms from being held captive still hadn't faded. She could still feel the hot muzzle of the gun millimetres away from her head, how could she forget that she had been just a trigger away from a painful and gory death?

The bruises were the physical manifestation of her fear but they too, would someday fade away. Her fear would not. She hadn't had a single night's sleep without nightmares, all because some  _monsters_ wearing the guise of humans had decided that her life didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. She had wanted to scream and scream that she was a human too, that they had no right to end her life, fury and fear warring for domination. In the end, the fear of death had won. Didn't it always?

She had waited for this nightmare to end. For her mother to wake her up like any other morning. But her mother was nowhere to be seen, all she could see was a sea of frightened and sympathetic faces before she gave in to the darkness at the edges of her vision and lost consciousness. 

The next time she opened her eyes, Mrs. Dodds, the lunch supervisor for the week was holding her, murmuring comforting words that she couldn't make out but appreciated nonetheless. And she had been so relieved to be alive that she had almost started laughing. Almost. Because studying in as prestigious a school as Midtown high required you to be more intelligent and logical than most. 

That she had escaped from the ordeal with her life and organs intact meant one of the two things. Either Police had caught the terrorist..... or she had been replaced. She looked around her to find that it was the latter. Unsurprising but disappointing all the same. Her heart ached with sympathy for the one who took her place and yet she felt vile and guilty to be finding relief that  _at least it wasn't her._

And then she found that the poor soul who had replaced her was none other than Peter Parker. She had been horrified. Out of every other person in this room, Parker was probably the least deserving of the role. Many had been envious of his intellect and sharp wit. He was a genius but a harmless nerd, and thus the perfect victim for people like Flash Thompson.

Nobody deserved to die here. Peter, least of all. Everybody had heard about the Parkers, how his uncle had died from a gunshot wound. How all May Parker had left was her nephew who was like a son to her. Cindy tried to put herself in May's shoes and wondered how she would feel if she, too,  lost her husband and nephew/son within a span of 2 years. 

Try as she might, she still couldn't imagine that pain. 

Seeing Peter being yanked and shaken, the muzzle of the gun almost touching his forehead, Cindy had only one thought-

' _History repeats itself'_

She couldn't quite hear what the terrorists were saying over the sound of blood roaring in her ears. The only thing she could do was watch the boy who had taken her place and indirectly saved her from death. Even if the choice hadn't really been his, she would still feel grateful to him forever for saving her life.

She was one of the many who had closed her eyes when the shooter had pulled the trigger. She had been one of those to scream. Oh how she had screamed! And kept screaming. A pained whimper had been followed by a thump of a body hitting the ground and that had erased all her doubts and shattered all her hope of Peter being safe somehow.

It was so difficult to open her eyes over the flowing tears. But Peter deserved being mourned and acknowledged for the hero he had been. So she opened her eyes after readying herself to see the bloody and broken body of Peter Parker.

She saw the most wonderful of things instead. Out of all the things she had imagined seeing, the leader of the terrorists howling on the floor and Peter standing in a well practiced fighting stance hadn't even made the list.

The rest of it had been like a dream, until the terrorist leader had captured Ned Leeds and taken him as hostage, and that dream had bled into a nightmare again. She had always thought of her would-be murderer as a hideous monster, but the blood flowing down his head and broken nose surpassed even her own expectations of a grotesque visage.

And she had felt drained and resigned. How was Peter going to save Ned? Ned himself was trembling like a leaf in the wind, much like she herself had, she imagined. There was no way Peter was going to see his bff being harmed. Super-assassin-like fighting be damned, there was no way they could win this.

And Peter had proved them wrong. Again. She had never been this happy to be proved wrong 3 times in a day. Peter had shown another hidden ace, and shot -  _honest to god- shot_ the leader like a professional shooter.

In the time to come, when she'd had regained her wits, she would wonder how many aces Peter Parker still had, hidden under the sleeves of his oversized sweatshirt.

The police and Ironman had arrived and the rest was- as they said- history.

It was a piece of history that deserved to stay in a museum and in the minds of every single person in Midtown high - students and staff alike.

She had been showered with attention and pampered by her parents , friends and well wishers. It should've pleased her but it didn't . She felt hollow and changed. A near death experience did that, she reckoned.

Her bithday was a mere days away. But she still wasn't interested in the party. Oh she was grateful alright. She was so grateful to be able to celebrate her birthday, but at the same time it irritated her. Everybody was behaving as if nothing had changed. Everybody was acting as if the incident had never happened. But it had, and the bruises and memories would never let her forget it. Her memories felt like a phantom pain in her heart, the demons that came awake when she lowered her guard low enough to sleep.

* * *

"Miss Moon, are you alright?" Ms. Warren's voice startled her into reality.

"Uh y-yeah" she replied.

The concerned expression on her chemistry teacher's face did nothing to make her feel better.

"Then you should go for lunch before you are late. The bell has rung already." Mrs. Warren said gently, as if any more louder and Cindy would break like glass.

She sighed. "Yeah I'll do that" and went off to get her lunch. In reality, she never wanted to set foot in  _that_ place again. Her memories were too recent for that, like an open wound that hadn't scabbed over.

 So she decided to sit in a quiet and peaceful alcove known to very few students.

She had lost her appetite (if she'd even had it before) by the time she reached her hidden sanctuary. Food didn't appeal to her now a days. Nothing did. She was just an empty husk of who she used to be, and she knew that there were so many other people who had worse than her, but maybe she was just weak and pathetic that way. 

So many questions warred in her mind. Why does she have to be the one? Why was she so weak? Why couldn't she just forget it all? Why was she so affected? It wasn't as if she was the only hostage to have a gun to her temple. Peter and Ned had been in her place too. And they didn't seem to be struggling. 

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realise that she wasn't alone in her sanctuary till a polite cough startled her into reality for the second time in the day.

She looked over to see Peter sitting near her, in all his nervous and awkward glory. That was one of the things which made him Peter Parker. Even when the whole school was heralding him as their hero (rightly so), he had chosen to sit near an ungrateful classmate who hadn't even thanked him for saving her life. She decided to remedy it now.

"I should thank you for saving my life"

Peter jumped as if he was surprised that Cindy had talked to him on her own volition. 

"Uh- um you are welcome......" He replied while nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

For all intents and purposes, he was back to being the same old Peter Parker- the nerd, instead of the Saviour they had all glimpsed on the day of the school shooting.

"How?" She asked after a moment od silence.

_How are you so normal after everything that happened? How did you learn to fight like that?  How can you forget it all and move on so easily? How are you so calm when you know that you could've died? How are you not having panic attacks now? How are you even alive?_

His lips quirked up in a sort-of smile and he answered

"I accepted it."

........ as if that answered each and every one of her questions. She waited for him to continue and grew impatient when he didn't say anything else.

"What?" She asked finally.

He looked at her with eyes that seemed wiser than his years, eyes that spoke of endless struggles, eyes that looked suspiciously similar to Captain America, Ironman, War machine and many others that she saw in the tv, fighting criminals to save innocents.

The eyes of a hero. 

And she had an epiphany. Peter Parker was  _so_ much more than what they had thought him to be. They had woefully underestimated him.

" I didn't try to forget anything. I didn't try to forget that I could've died that day. I didn't try to forget that my uncle had died from a gunshot too. I simply accepted it. 

When you accept that something bad happened to you, instead of forgetting it or living in denial,  you get the energy to move on. Yes, I could've died that day, but I  _didn't._ And that makes all the difference.

If we think about dying every day, we'd never be able to live a single day in our lives. Death is a fact, but so is life. And why would I want to waste the life I've  been gifted, the second chance I've got just because of something that could've happened but didn't? Life is too short and fragile to live in the past or the future." He ended solemnly, meaning every single word he said.

His strong conviction was infectious, and she could feel some of it transferring into her. She pondered over what he said and realized what a huge mistake she had made. She had been so preoccupied with living in that painful memory that she had overlooked the fact that she still had her life, her parents, her friends, everything.

She realised that her memories of that day were like an infected wound that needed to be cleaned and not covered. Let this experience be a reminder that her life was precious and nobody could ruin her life if she didn't give them the power to do just that.

"Thanks, for  _everything._ " she said, putting all her feelings of gratefulness behind those three words. 

Peter nodded at her and they shared a few moments of companionship in silence before the bell rang, signifying the end of lunch time. They got up to go to their respective classes.

Earlier, she had thought about talking to her parents to cancel her birthday party, but now she felt how wrong she had been. She was going to live her life, because that was the best revenge against the terrorists who had tried to kill her. She was going to celebrate her life because she knew better now. Her attitude had been  so toxic and hurtful to her loved ones.

She looked up to see Peter talking to his best friends animatedly.

"Hey Peter and friends!" She called to get their attention "You are invited to my birthday party this week" she said with a wide and heartfelt smile.

Because she sure as hell wasn't going to lose her second chance.

 


	2. Shocking Flash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash wasn't having a good day. Wait, scratch that. Make it a week. Yes, Flash wasn't having a good week.
> 
> First the dreadful dinner , then the school shooting and now _this_. There was something fishy going on.
> 
> Maybe it was a nightmare. A nightmare where Peter-the-whimp was an intimidating smartass who faught like a secret ninja and shot like a professional sniper. Parker couldn't just change overnight, could he?
> 
> Little did he know that Peter had never changed. Because knowing this fact would've saved him from a whole lot of humiliation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here goes nothing!
> 
> I never knew that the half delirious idea I had at 4 am a day before my final year exams would grow into a series!  
> No, really, I had been sooo irritated when scrolling through those abused!peter fanfics (as if peter was anything other than a bamf!) because I had promised myself that I'd study after reading one- just one fanfiction where Peter wasn't such a whimp ( and ooc). The night passed and I still couldn't find one.
> 
> So I decided to take matters into my own hands and...... here we are.
> 
> Enjoy!

Flash Thompson wasn't jealous. Thank you very much. As if he- the captain of the basketball team and one of the most popular kids in school- would be jealous of Puny Parker!

Hah! Blasphemy!

No, it wasn't envy that made him brood  (he did  _not_ sulk!) like he was doing now. It was just that he  _knew_ that something was going on. And he didn't appreciate the fact that he was the only one to think so. Everybody else was too busy running after Parker, asking to be friends and what-not , to even wonder how Parker became so strong.

Maybe he had been right in thinking that it wasn't Puny Parker but an imposter. 

But here was the conundrum, apart from all that badassery, (fake?) Parker had been acting the same. He had the same posture, the same nervousness, same mannerisms, same style of talking and walking. The person impersonating Parker had obviously studied him for a long time. He even knew everything Parker should have known (not that Flash was stalking him or anything). It made him think why anybody would want to take the job of pretending to be a nerd. Seriously, didn't people have more interesting things to do in their life?

So Flash had taken it upon himself to unveil the original identity of the imposter, nefarious plots and all - and find out his motive behind it all while he was at it. Maybe then people would know how awesome and heroic Flash Thompson was. Nowadays nobody appreciated his presence, Fake-Parker had garnered all the attention.

But how was he going to go about it? Nobody would believe him if he went and made accusations without any proof, however true it may be. Flash scoffed. What other proof did they need? As if Puny Parker would ever stand up for himself, let alone save all of them from trigger-happy terrorists. He shivered. That day had been one of the worst experiences in his life. He was glad that he survived it all without PTSD. If he ever faced such a situation in his future, it would be too early.

A small part of his mind wondered if it  _had_ been Peter, the  _real_ Peter. What if Parker had actually faught those weaponised terrorists and subdued them singlehandedly. What if he was wrong and Parker had been that competent all along. The possibility that Puny Parker could've kicked his ass to Africa and back, while Flash was busy making his life hell, was something he'd rather not think about.

He shook his head. Such thoughts weren't good for his sanity.

In a bid to uncover the truth, Flash had started keeping an eye on Parker ( _he was not stalking him, dammit!_ ), well, more than usual. He had already memorised Peter's schedule ( stop it with those false allegations already! ). He already knew that Leeds and Parker were going to have a  _disney marathon_ of all things after school. Well, not so surprising, since they always had nerd-fests on wednesdays. What a bunch of nutters! 

Sometimes he wondered if everything that happened a few days back had actually been a nightmare. It certainly felt like it. Peter and his friends gave no indication that something was different. Wasn't Leeds supposed to be Parker's best friend? How couldn't he realise that he was talking to an imposter? MJ was a different story altogether. How would she know that something was wrong with Parker if she always had her nose in a book. Well, he couldn't exactly fault her for choosing books over those losers. Who would like to sit with a bunch of nerds who only talked about legos, harry potter and star wars?

Earlier, Flash had figured that Leeds had actually noticed something was wrong with Peter. Maybe he was too scared to say anything? Well, whatever. So Flash had decided to talk with Ned. What could he say? He was too magnanimous. 

He  _knew_ he was on the right track. Now if only Ned had actually followed the damn script. He had expected Leeds to simper and thank him for his generosity.  Leeds was supposed to grovel at his feet and tell him how Peter had changed so much, how Flash was the only one smart enough to notice, how he had been so scared before Flash had graciously decided to lend him an ear.

But as you may have figured already, nothing like that happened. Flash vividly remembered that conversation. 

* * *

 

_"What do you want" The chubby asian had demanded him with a raised eyebrow and a skeptical expression on his face, when Flash had cornered him after History class._

_"What's it with Parker? Don't you see that something is wrong with him?" He had asked with complete confidence. He had expected Ned to start getting nervous and twitchy. But the response he got had bewildered him._

_Leeds actually had the audacity to_ laugh  _at him. He didn't like the look on the Asian's face. He looked at him as if Flash was the mad one!_

 _"There is nothing wrong with Peter. Why are_ you  _so interested anyway? Don't you have something better to do than stalk or bully people? Oh wait, you don't. Sorry for asking such an obvious question." Ned had said sarcastically, before slipping away and leaving him confused and offended._

* * *

 

"Dude, are you even listening?" Harry asked, shaking him into the present.

"Huh?" 

His friend sighed before repeating his question.

"Cindy invited  _Parker_ to her birthday party. Can you imagine it?"

Oh. Well, that wasn't very surprising. Fake or not, Parker  _had_ saved the school from a nasty terrorist attack.

"I mean, yeah, he defeated those terrorists- still working on believing it, by the way- and did all those kickass moves, but  _still....._ " Harry continued. 

"I know what you mean. Man, those were some badass moves right there. Who would've thought that Parker had it in him. Did you  _see_ him dodging those bullets? How the hell did Parker do that? And shooting those guns! He was shooting like a pro! Man. I wish I could shoot like that..." Jason interrupted. 

"Seriously dude, are you  _fangirling_ over that  _nerd_?" Flash asked incredulously.

"No. Why'd I do that?" Jason's eyes narrowed in disgust "I'm just saying. You can't learn stuff like that overnight. What? Did he secretly train as a superspy or something?"

"No you duffer, didn't you hear Tony stark? The official statement is that Parker had learnt self defence and basic weapon's training because he is the personal intern of Tony Stark himself. You have to know stuff like that if you want to survive for more than a week working with ironman. I've heard that all the stark industry employees have to learn self defense." Abe informed.

"Still, that didn't seem like basic self defense to me. Did you see his stance? It felt like one of those action movies, except that it was all happening before my eyes." Harry was too reverent while saying this. It made Flash wonder if he was actually fanboying over Peter.

"But look at him now. There is no sign that he knows kung fu or karate or whatever it was. Looking at him, I'd never say that he was capable of such things. He was pathetic at PE. He still struggles in it! If I hadn't actually witnessed the situation, I'd never had believed that  _Parker_ of all people could shoot and punch like a pro!"

 Here. Here was the opening he needed. Maybe people weren't so naive after all.

"I know right. All these things are so out of character. Makes me wonder if it  _is_ actually Parker."

"What do you mean?" Jason leaned over, intrigued, while Harry and Abe rolled their eyes. Yeah, right. He had already warned them but they still refused to believe him.

"What I mean to say is, all these things that happened are really unlike Parker. What if it isn't Parker, but some imposter? The real Peter may have been kidnapped and the imposter may have taken his place." He said with absolute conviction.

Jason looked at him solemnly..........

...... and them burst out laughing. Laughing at  _him._

"S-s-sorry" He cried, trying to control his giggles as Flash sat there, scowling and sulk- _brooding._

"What?" He snapped, tired of being laughed at.

"Well, it all sounds like one of those conspiracies you read. 'Buzzfeed Unsolved: Pretend Parker on the loose' " Jason said, wiping his tears of laughter.

"You are saying this because you don't know the things that I do!" 

At this, everybody at the lunch table leaned in, mildly interested.

"You see, the day before the school shooting, my family had dinner with the Parkers."

"What? Flash, you've been holding out on us. Anything you'd like to share with the class" Abe teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Will you let me continue?" Flash asked irritably. Abe mimed zipping his lips and gestured for him to continue.

"Yeah, so my family had dinner with the Parkers. Turns out, my uncle has been dating May Parker, Peter's aunt and somehow they had arranged a family dinner."

"Your uncle is dating Peter's aunt. What's so interesting about it?" Harry asked, confused.

"You didn't see Peter that day. He was glaring at my uncle for the whole dinner. His glares were actually worse than MJ's" 

There were disbelieving murmurs of 'no ways' among the listeners. Everybody knew that MJ had a copyright over all kinds of glares and sarcastic looks. Her 'you-could-be-burning-to-death-and-I'd-be roasting-marshmallows-over-you' look was one of the epic 'I-don't-give-a-damn looks in the history of looks. Did that make any sense? 

"I'd had written that off as temporary bravery or something, but then he went and did something even more out of character!"

Flash enjoyed the intrigue on everybody's face. He leaned in and continued with a dramatic whisper, as if imparting a dangerous secret.

"He..... gave my uncle..... the Shovel Talk!" He finished, leaning back on his chair with a smug grin. His smug expression did not last when he saw that his friends were not as shocked as he had wanted them to be.

"........ soooo...... you think that Peter has been kidnapped and replaced by an imposter because he gave your uncle the shovel talk?" Abe confirmed slowly.

"Yeah!" Finally! Finally somebody understood!

"Well sorry to break it to you, but Peter did nothing out of the ordinary"

Exactly- no, wait! This wasn't what they were supposed to say!

"You don't understand! Parker actually threatened my uncle with bodily harm!"

"Dude, that is the definition of the shovel talk..." Jason said, looking at him worriedly.

Flash looked at everybody, and was met with varying levels of pity or disinterest.

"Fine!" He all but snapped " you want proof? I'll give you proof" And with this, he stalked off to the table where Peter was sitting-dubbed as 'the nerd table'.

* * *

 

Peter was arguing rather passionately about how Darth Vader deserved a heroic arc of his own, while MJ was stealing fries from his plate, when a hand slammed into the table. Flash stood at his table, looking angry, as if somebody had killed his puppy and now he was out for vengeance. 

Ned and Peter shared wary glances. Flash had had been acting weirdly for around a week now. Peter had noticed him stalking them on multiple occassions. Really, if Flash hadn't been so bad at shadowing them and if Peter hadn't had his spidey sense, Spider-man's identity wouldn't have remained a secret. For the first few times, it had been amusing to see Flash acting as if he was some sort of a super spy, but all too fast, this routine lost it's novelty and now it was becoming increasingly annoying.

"What's wrong with you?" Flash shouted. The whole cafeteria became silent and all the eyes were trained on their table. Peter felt mildly uncomfortable.

" Can you tone it down a little? People are watching" Peter hissed in embarrassment. 

"No. Absolutely not! People need to know the truth!" Flash glared. Yeah, whatever. Flash's glares were nothing on MJ's...... or Pepper's. Peter swore that Pepper was secretly a dragon.... or a basilisk. Her stare froze you and petrified you with fear. He had been subjected to it only once in his life and he still had nightmares. God knew how Tony survived being subjected to it all the time.

"......what truth are you talking about" Peter drawled. On the outside, Peter was calm and uninterested, but he was internally panicking. Had Flash somehow found his secret identity? Had he slipped? How? He had taken all the safety measures! He'd even forgone patrolling for a day to keep his secret identity hidden.

Flash puffed up. "You are not Peter Parker-"

 For a second, Peter's heart stopped beating. This was it. He was going to be outed as Spider-Man. 

"-you are an imposter" Flash finished triumphantly .

Oh  _no-_ wait,  _what?_

"........come again?" Peter asked in complete disbelief.

"Are you deaf Parker? Oh wait, wrong name. What  _is_ your real name, huh? And where are you hiding Parker? The real Parker, that is."

By this time everybody was watching their exchange with varying level of interest. Even Mr Harrington, today's lunch supervisor was listening to their conversation. 

"Let me get this straight..... you think.... that I am not Peter Parker, but an imposter, who has kidnapped and replaced the 'original' Peter." Peter clarified, making finger quotes.

"Exactly" Flash said with a smug expression.

"....why?"

Flash frowned, as if confused. 

"Why do you think so?" Peter was having trouble with keeping a straight face. He rather envied Ned, who was currently trying to stuff a fist into his mouth to stop his giggles. MJ, too, looked rather happy, since she was at the last page of her sketch book, valiantly trying to capture Flash's expressions. Valiant,  because Flash's expressions were changing continuously- like waves of the ocean- from confusion, to fear to anger to self righteousness and then back to confusion.

" Because you threatened my uncle with severe bodily harm if he tried to harm your aunt-"

"I think I was pretty justified in warning him of the consequences of playing with May's heart."

"You don't understand- you- you were acting so frightening!"

"I was led to believe that this was how you gave people 'shovel talks'..... why, did I do it wrong? In that case, I think I'll have to try my hands at a shovel talk again...... I don't think your uncle will be particularly happy about that....." Peter grinned sharply and leaned back on his chair. He now understood why Tony liked to rile people up. It was so entertaining!

Flash growled in irritation. He clearly wasn't getting the expected answer. What? Did he really think that he'd get a positive answer? Even if Peter really had been an imposter, this wasn't how you interacted with one.

"You even faught those terrorists! And you didn't have a single scratch after the fight."

Peter frowned. Hadn't they already taken care of it?

"In case you didn't pay attention, I had been trained in self defense and basic weapon handling because I am Mr. Stark's personal intern. I admit that not getting too injured after subduing a few trigger-happy terrorists may seem unreal, but these hostiles were  _really_ untrained. Besides, my self defense training may have been a bit more than basic...... considering the fact that I had been nearly kidnapped twice due to my close work with Mr. Stark."

"Hah! As if we'd take it as you say it. Parker never had a Stark internship...."

"Are you telling me that Mr. Stark lied to everybody when he said that he has a personal intern named Peter Parker? But why would anybody want to kidnap and impersonate me? By your own admission, I am not special enough." Peter raised a challenging eyebrow.

"But- but- you..." Flash trailed off miserably. 

"Think about it...... and please, try to find some proof before going around accusing people." With this, Peter patted Flash and walked away with a smirk on his face.

* * *

 

Flash forlornly watched Peter walk away from him after shaking off his accusations . He had come to Peter's table to catch him in his lie, but was left sputtering and humiliated instead.

There was something about Peter that felt out of place but familiar. His way of talking, his sharp grin, the glint in his eyes when he was about to win something.....it all reminded him of... Tony stark.

Peter reminded him of Tony Stark. His shark-like grin was too similar to one of the grins Tony Stark gave to annoying press reporters before he tore them a new one. The glint in his eyes was exactly like the glint in Tony's eyes when he was about to destroy his opposition. It was ruthless and it was dangerous.

Peter Parker was not an imposter. He hadn't been kidnapped and replaced. He had an actual internship with Tony Stark. He knew how to shoot guns and fight criminals. Peter Parker was a badass who could've kicked his ass to Africa and back, but  _didn't_ because Flash was insignificant to him.

The world tilted on it's axis as Flash realised things he should've known a long time ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry I was late posting this chapter😕  
> I had been shipped off to an island where there was no wifi or network...... poor me...
> 
> But well, i am back now. I don't really know anything about american schools or star wars.... i really hope there were no mistakes.... but in case something was left out even after my third preview, feel free to point out my mistakes......
> 
> As always kudos and comments make me happy😊
> 
> Adiós and lots of love😉


	3. MJ knows best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sneak peak into the brain of our favourite sarcastic ball of snark aka Decathlon leader extraordinaire MJ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sooo sorry for the long wait. Who knew that finding a suitable college and filling admission forms was such a pain in the ass?  
> This particular task has raised my respect for college goers by 10%.  
> Anyway, new chapter for you! Sorry again. And thanks to those who waited for me!
> 
> I hope this is uo to your liking!

Mj had been a very sharp child. Nothing could get away from her. As she transitioned from childhood to adultery - ahem- adulthood, that sharpness increased. Just take a look at her face. Her visage set in an expression that showed her indifference to humanity and a glare that was a permanent feature of her eyes, not unlike a high level lazer beam. Her piercing eyes could look into your very soul and glean the deepest, darkest secret of your existence. MJ knew everything. And as much of a blasphemy it was, if there was  _anything_ MJ did not already knew, she'd find out. You see, MJ was not fond of mysteries. And what best way to deal with a mystery other than to solve it?

So yeah, MJ knew the identity of spiderman. Had known it for a long time. Peter Parker had been a mystery to her. He still was, in ways that she could not fathom. She had wanted to know everything about him. What made him tick? Why did he save everybody at the cost of his life and sanity? How could anybody be so  _nice_ living a life filled with so much sadness and disasters? How could he have so many different aspects to him? How could he be so disgustingly selfless? How could he be so  _cute_ \- ahem- you did not read that.

Peter was a big fluffy ball of sunshine and goodness and she hated him for that. (And maybe ~~loved~~   ~~liked~~ tolerated him for that too ) He was disgusting ( ~~and adorable~~ ).

She'd had her suspicions about him for a long time, but by the time she'd proved to herself that Peter was actually spiderman, the  ~~likable~~ nerd had already gone and decided that she was his friend. If MJ was famous for her piercing glares (a different one for each situation), Peter was famous for his trademark Puppy Dog Eyes **™.** You just couldn't say no when the full brunt of his attack was aimed at you. His warm, big brown eyes and the mournful look would be enough to bring emperors and gods to their knees. MJ was but a human.

And so she had joined him and Ned in their Star wars and harry potter marathons. She had sat with them, making sarcastic remarks while they built legos. She had sat with them during lunch, always careful to be at least 2 seats away from them (lest they drag her into their legendary nerd debates), but always close enough to throw popcorn (and if she made sure that she could listen to them, then it was purely for making sarcastic comments). She had never really had friends. It had been an almost alien concept to her that always disgusted her (no, she didn't  _long_ for a friend, don't be an idiot). But sitting with Peter and Ned always brought a warm, comfortable feeling in her heart. If this was what friendship really was then she was kinda glad to have them (though you'd never witness her admit it)

That didn't mean that they weren't losers. It just meant that they were a  _different_ kind of losers. The good kind.

* * *

 

She knew Peter could protect himself. But unfortunately, that didn't mean that he  _did_ save himself. He was always being bullied. Besides Peter Parker was a living disaster waiting to happen.and that suited her fine, after all, being friends with a walking and talking disaster had it's own perks - the entertainment  _never_ ceased.

She had gone to school that day with a funny feeling in her gut. Her instincts were always right, she knew that. The proof came in the form of Flash acting suspiciously. She had full heartedly supported Ned's claim that Flash had somehow hit his head on a metal pole and gone insane. The lunch break had been as entertaining as ever. She'd even bribed the lunch lady to bring her some popcorn (but don't tell Peter). 

It had been a glorious day. Seeing Flash sputtering in confusion and humiliation had just about made her week. She'd even finished her latest scrapbook of distress (an added bonus of her friendship with Peter - you never ran out of interesting expressions, dude's face was practically an open book. On a completely unrelated note, MJ loved books)

Yes, the day had been glorious indeed. That was, until the time shit hit the fan and everything went to hell in a handbasket.

_**Boom** _

She'd never forget that day. Even though she had complete trust over Peter, she couldn't see how even he could survive a bullet straight to his brain. When the terrorist leader had pulled the trigger, she had closed her eyes along with everybody else. And for the first time in years, a lone tear had made it's way down her cheek. She had never felt so helpless in her whole life. The pain and anguish had felt so heavy that she feared she would fall into an abyss. The other students waited for spiderman to come and save them, but MJ knew that he was already saving them.

She was so angry. Angry at the terrorists, angry at her fate, angry at Peter, angry at herself. Why did she have to lose her first friend? Why did he have to be such a self-sacrificing idiot?

And then when she had opened her eyes, she had been equal parts angry and relieved. How dare Peter worry her like that? How dare he be so likable? But she'd never been so relieved in her life. 

Peter's fight with those terrorists was a work of art. His fluid grace, his flexibility, his agility, it wasn't difficult to know that he was spiderman. It was just further proof to her theory ( not that she needed it). It hurt her a little that Peter had kept that a secret from her, but she knew how important it was for him. 

The moment The terrorist had taken Ned at gunpoint, MJ had known that all of them were going down. She had enough confidence over Peter's loyality and friendship to know that harming those who came under his protection was the shortest (and fastest ) way to hell. 

Of course she was right. She was  _always_ right. It was an undeniable fact. 

Peter had done the most badass thing ever, he'd shot the terrorist leader. Right. At. His. Wrist. Was he secretly a professional sniper? Because that level of accuracy was only seen in spy movies and olympics. The students probably would've questioned this, but they had been starstruck by the arrival of Ironman. The terrorists were short work and the situation was wrapped up so quickly that it left her feeling as if she was in a dream. (She would've preferred if it was. Thinking that Peter had been a second away from a certain gory death brought painful feelings, as if her heart was being squeezed into a small bottle. It wasn't a feeling she much cared for).

At the end of the day, when she'd met Peter on her way out, he'd taken one look at her face  complete with the tear mark from that single drop of tear that had rebelliously made it's way down her cheeks and asked in concern

"You okay?" 

His face had been devoid of any pity or sympathy ( ~~and that had made her fall in love with him, just a little) .~~

* * *

 

"So what are you gonna wear to Cindy's birthday party?" Sally asked her. 

"Dunno. Jeans, maybe" she replied ,distracted. Her cause of distraction was laughing adorably at something Ned had said. Loser.

Sally eyed her knowingly. And then with a mischievous grin, she said

"You know, Peter is going to be there too. You better dress up well. There are quite a few girls who are vying for his attentions, now that he has been heralded as the saviour of the school" she struck a dramatic pose at the end.

MJ snorted.

" 'Vying for his attentions' Somebody is reading way too many romance novels. Besides, Peter is not the type to fall head over heels for every well dressed girl who catches his eyes. He has more brains than that. Please give him some credit" she scoffed.

"Oh so you  _do_ like Peter" Sally teased. 

"I never said that. Stop putting words in my mouth."

"Ah ha you'll have to come up with better excuses than that" 

This was irritating her. So she took a deep breath. 

"Are you all done with your useless bickering so that we can start over our decathlon practice?" MJ asked loudly.

All the movement stopped at her authorative tone. 

"Who has the question cards for today?" She asked.

One by one, they all turned to Mr Harrington who was peacefully snoring on his chair.

"Mr Harrington" they called.

"Mmmhmm"

"Mr. Harrington" They called again.

This time all they got was a loud snore. 

"Well, self study for every one. Unless any of you have question cards prepaired already." MJ sighed.

"Hey MJ. Cindy's birthday is tomorrow. Can't we get a day off?"

"No"

"Please"

"N. O. No."

Sally nudged Peter and suddenly MJ was facing the full brunt of Peter's extra pitiful Puppy Dog Eyes **™.** You know, the kind which can't be ignored by even those who kicked puppies for fun.

"N-no" No, this couldn't happen. Her resolve was wavering.

This time, Peter brought out the next weapon in his arsenal- The Kicked Puppy Look **™**.

Well, shit. Resistance is futile.

"Alright" MJ sighed. Everybody jumped up from their seats, eager to get away before she could change her mind.

"But" she continued forcefully "y'all better not slack off. Double practice the next time we meet" 

This was met with resigned groans. But each one of them accepted it (she was their leader, after all ).

Mr. Harrington chose that moment to wake up.

"Oh, so it's over already? Well then, see you tomorrow. Have a good day." 

And with that he practically waltzed out of the room.

MJ packed her bag. She was in no hurry to reach an empty house. Maybe she had been a little too engrossed in her work because the sudden clearing of throat startled her.

She looked up, armed with her glare of doom to demolish the culprit.

"Uh" The culprit looked as startled as she had felt.

"What?"

"Um" He repeated.

She looked at him expectantly, before sighing dramatically and saying

"Peter, you have about 30 seconds to say something comprehensible. Your time starts now" 

"I- uh-  _willyougotoamoviewithme_? " 

MJ stilled. This couldn't be what she was thinking it was. She had to make it clear.

"Why so nervous? I always go to movies with you and Ned" she asked nonchalantly. 

"Uh- I mean't- I-I-I..." Peter had turned completely red by now.

MJ briefly wondered if cosplaying as a tomato was in Peter's to-do list. Even if it was, was that particular shade of red healthy for his health?

Thankfully, Peter had gathered himself within that brief time. He continued after clearing his throat.

"I- uh- Ned is not coming.... He's kinda busy with Betty that day.... Its only you and me. Soooo...."

"Don't sweat it loser. I'll come." 

Peter's face broke out in one of his disgustingly adorable grins.

"But I have a condition"

The grin slipped off his face, to be replaced with apprehension.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask for your soul.... this time. My condition is that you treat me to dinner after the movie. That is the least you can do after I suffer through whatever nerdy montrosity of a movie you'll choose"

The resulting grin threatened to split his face in half. MJ had to struggle keeping a smile off her face.

"Now shoo. Don't you have to go for patrol, spiderman?"

Peter's eyes widened comically and his jaws threatened to fall onto the floor.

"Wha-no-MJ I'm not spiderman." He sputtered.

"Just kidding loser." MJ made a great show of rolling her eyes. Peter slumped in relief. 

"Now if you'll please hurry. I have places to be, you know."

They said their goodbyes and walked out of the school.

"Bye MJ!"

"See ya around, loser." She said. 'Don't get yourself killed' she thought.

She'll wait for Peter. And when he came to her, she'll listen. Because she knew that it was important to Peter. And MJ knows best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like it? Hate it? Whom should I write about next? Please comment😄😄


	4. Something fishy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Jeanne Andrews.
> 
> She is a journalist working for The Daily Bugle.
> 
> She, like her fellow coworkers, is confused over the school shooting incident in Mid town High.
> 
> She, unlike her coworkers, decides to investigate against the direct orders of her superiors (something about Stark industries covering up the identity of the teen who saved them all)
> 
> Don't be like Jeanne Andrews. Terrible fate awaits those who go against Irondad and spiderson.
> 
> OR  
> The fic where the press is nosy and pays for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am soo sorry for the late update. Writing this chapter was like pulling teeth, well, a particularly elastic-y teeth (if the length is anything to go by) you wouldn't believe how many times I wrote and deleated parts of this fic.  
> I hope Peter doesn't seem ooc, I tried my best to keep him in character..  
> ......i have nothing else to say now... sooo Enjoy!

Jeanne Andrews: one of the best Journalists working for Daily Bugle. At mere 32 years, she was considered the top of her game. It didn't matter if the person to be interviewed was a billionaire or a politician, when she decided to listen, everybody talked. She knew all the ways to get the juiciest gossip straight from the source. The people who talked with her claimed that talking to her was like going through an interrogation. 

So yeah, she was pretty confident in her interrogation-ahem-  _interviewing_ skills. Her curiosity could only be satiated by discovery.

But you know what they say- curiosity killed the cat, and even though discovery brought it back, the poor cat was still traumatised for life.

* * *

Her descent started the day she decided to stalk- ahem-  _observe_ Peter Parker. She was one of the few lucky ones who knew the identity of the teen hero who beat up a bunch of terrorists with ironman. Actually, the official statement was that the student who had been held at gunpoint had managed to stall the bad guys till ironman and law enforcement came to rescue them, and she'd had believed it if everything hadn't been so fishy. 

For starters,  _Tony Stark_ had given this statement. The arrogant billionaire seldom responded about matters pertaining to his missions as ironman. Still, she figured, it must have been a blow to his ego to be sidelined by a teenager. How could he deal with the fact that for once in his life, he wasn't the centre of attention? Well, whatever. It just irked her that Stark would take all the credit when the actual saviour went unnamed. It had taken her a  _really_ long time for her to get the name 'Peter Parker' from the law enforcement officer she had to date. She was probably the only journalist to know such details.

'Damn Stark' she thought again as she encountered roadblock upon roadblock while getting details about Peter Parker. But she trudged on for justice. Peter Parker deserved the fame the interview would bring him. And if she became even more famous after interviewing the unnamed hero then it was just her reward for bringing justice.

She hadn't liked the arrogant billionaire since the day he refused to give her his time for an interview. She had just asked for an hour, but he had refused her even that. This time, she would show the world the true face of the attention-seeking playboy.

* * *

 

 Peter Parker was a fairly handsome, 15 year old boy who studied in Midtown School of Technology. The boy was practically a genius with highest marks in the school and a full fledged scholarship for all 4 years of highschool. He was in all the AP classes and even had an internship in Stark Industries. Well, that explained why Stark felt so threatened by the teen. 

As she watched him from her seat in a cafe near Midtown high, she noticed him climbing into a black car and driving that car was none other than Happy Hogan, the head of security at SI and Stark's personal bodyguard! Had Stark stooped so low as to threaten a minor?

She was shaken from her thoughts by a staff of the cafe. 'Staff' because even though he worked in this cafe, she was pretty sure that the person standing before her wasn't a waiter .

"Ahem" he cleared his throat with a suspicious look on his face.

"I am sorry ma'am, but the staff of this cafe has noticed suspicious behaviour from you in the past week." He said, eyeing the binoculars in her hand with suspicion."We would appreciate it if you refrained from such behaviour in the future." 

The nerve. Who the hell was he to stop her from her work? Whatever she did was none of his business.

"I am sure that you are mistaken. I am a reporter and I am currently observing this area for my next report. If you don't want your potential customers to think how nosy and rude you are, then you will mind your own business." She said with a smile that prompted seasoned politicians to start quaking in their boots.

To her surprise, the man did not show any discomfort. Instead, his expression became determined.

"This shop has CCTV cameras. We cannot let our customers stalk minors" he said sternly.

She opened her mouth to deny his accusation, but he beat her into it.

"Don't try to deny it. My staff says that they have seen you following a student from Midtown High not less than 5 times this week. You also sit here with binoculars and watch over the school. Journalist or not, you cannot stalk a student like this. Whatever your reasons, it is unethical and either you stop this behaviour or we call the cops."

So she was caught? Doesn't matter. These idiots will never know how important justice was. She drew herself to her full height (at mere 5 feet 2 inches, she hadn't been gifted with good genes like her brother and father) in an effort to look intimidating and refused to look embarrassed. 

"You wouldn't know how difficult and dangerous the search for truth is. We journalists are the carriers of truth and justice. And sometimes, we have to resort to such.....questionable..... means to attain our goals. So do your duty to the nation by ignoring things that doesn't concern you." She said, showing her ID to the man as proof of her profession.

"This does concern me" He said, before looking at her id. Then his eyes widened-

Aha. Now he knew whom he was dealing with!

 -and he started chuckling. 

"Daily Bugle? Why was it even a surprise? There is no other newspaper that would stoop so low as to stalk innocents. Justice and truth? Ha!"

"W-what do you mean by that?" She sputtered in righteous indignation. Their disagreement had captured the attention of the customers inside the cafe, who were now listening to them.

"Daily Bugle" he continued "is one of the most hypocritical newspapers in existence."

Ha! Blasphemy. But why did she see all these people nodding their heads as if they agreed to this man's (false) assessment?

"You reporters of Daily Bugle always claim that you're unbiased, but I've never read anything in it which is not speculation, unproved theory or outright lies. Your paper is always against mutants and supports politicians who are openly anti-mutant. You print stories about spiderman being a menance when everybody has seen all the good he has done to us. I could go on but I don't think that my feedback will do anything to make you change your newspaper from a biased gossip rag to a respectable newspaper."

.......well, when he put it like that....... It wasn't that they printed lies, it was just that they omitted some of the truth. Well, if omitting a little truth appeased the higher ups and filled their pockets at the same time, then what was wrong with it? Personally, she had nothing against mutants or spiderman, but their PR was none of her fault. If they wanted good publicity then they should've revealed their identities and agreed to an interview. It was as simple as that. How can people trust in faceless heroes? Besides, she couldn't understand why the vigilantes would want to save people and choose not to get recognition. 

"I don't care about your newspaper besides the fact that currently you are doing something illegal and unethical. So once again, I will ask you to leave or I'll have to call the cops." He stopped, having voiced his opinions.

Inside, she seethed with anger at the disrespectful tone. Outwardly, she smiled and took her leave. As much as she wanted to annihilate the reputation of this cafe, it had to wait. First she will do her job, then she will take her revenge. 

With her mind already composing catchy headlines about her upcoming interview and review for this cafe, she hurried out of the shop. 

This useless argument had wasted her precious time. Peter Parker was long gone and she had an idea about where he was right now. She couldn't waste more time. She would talk to Peter tomorrow and tell him about the truth about Tony Stark. She had a feeling that it would be easy convincing him for an interview. They were both the victims of the billionaire playboy's arrogance and attention seeking tendencies. Now she just had to 'bump' into him at an opportune time.

All was well. Or maybe not.

* * *

 

Peter had known about his stalker the second she had decided to follow him. Tony had known since even earlier. There was no way he wouldn't know about people who took an unhealthy amount of interest in his  ~~son~~ protege. He had separate servers and programs coded to detect when somebody stuck their sticky fingers onto personal details about Peter.

So yes, Tony had known about Jeanne Andrews and he was none too pleased about it. The first time he had detected an attempt at unauthorised access at Peter's files at Midtown High, he had been a little surprised (and more than a little apprehensive ). Unwelcome thoughts of Shieldra or the government catching on to Peter/spiderman had almost brought a panic attack, something that he squashed with practiced ease. He had been ready to fortify the whole network (because even he knew that hiding a record or strengthening the security for details of one single person would be counter productive), but turns out that he needn't have done that.

He could've just sat there with popcorn and cheetos and the hacker still wouldn't have accessed Peter's details. No, calling it a hacking attempt was an insult to hackers all around the world. These pathetic attempts at breaking through the  _school's_ firewall were so laughable that he felt second hand embarrassment for the poor guy. Still, even a civillian keeping an eye on Peter was potentially dangerous, so he decided to talk to Peter, who was on his way to the tower for their weekend inventing spree. They had come a long way since the homecoming debacle and he would be lying if he said that he didn't feel proud at the way everything was going.

But Peter was due in an hour. Plenty of time to find the life history of the perpetrator of the 'hacking attempts' (but seriously, even Peter's  _dog_ could probably do better than this, you know, the one they adopted after getting hit by an unadultrated shot of Peter's Puppy dog eyes: extra pitiful **™)**

By the time Peter had reached the tower, he had a file on the people with an unhealthy interest in Peter. They had discussed about it for a long time and it was decided to let them get the details. At this point, not having his records accessible was more suspicious than having people see that he was a straight As student with an internship at Stark Industries. Especially when that was something that was so easily found out.

Tony hadn't felt too charitable towards the journalist who was behind this all, but one look at Peter and he'd decided that whatever punishment he could mete out to the nosy, obnoxious woman would pale in comparison to what Peter had in store for her.

In fact, he had felt a very warm and fluffy feeling in his heart. Proud. He was feeling proud of Peter. Peter reminded him of himself in so may ways. Only, this child was  _better_ and he couldn't have been  _prouder._ Rhodey was right, he was turning into a sappy soccer-dad who cheered at every goal his son made. And there was no other way he'd rather have it.

* * *

  _Crash_

"Oh I am  _so_ sorry! Are you alright?" She asked to the teen- Peter Parker- as she 'accidentally' crashed onto him. The teen in question was dressed in one of those trademark oversized hoodies that screamed NERD, paired with worn jeans and scruffy sneakers. He looked almost  _skinny_ and for once she wondered if this was really the Peter Parker who trashed the terrorists and made them beg to go to jail. Well, considering that she was on the floor and he was standing, he must be stronger than he looked.

Well, appearances could be deceptive, because who would believe that a short woman like her could make seasoned politicians shiver with apprehension? 

"Uh y-yeah. I-I'm fine. Are you alright?" the poor child stammered, extending her a hand for her to climb back up to her feet. His shy demeanour almost made her guilty about what she was going to do. Almost.

"Oh I can't say I am. I am afraid my ankle has sprained." She said with a pained expression and inwardly smiled when his expression turned guilty.

"How will I get home now?" She lamented.

"......you could book a cab"

"Excellent idea! But I still have to get my order from that coffee shop" she pointed at a coffee shop conveniently placed within feets of the place of the unfortunate collision.

"Will you help me get there?" She begged, counting on his kind heart to get her way.

"Sure" he extended a hand as a crutch and they made their way to the cafe.

* * *

 

"Wait, you helped me even after I crashed into you. It is only fair that I treat you to something." She threw her next trap according to operation: capture Peter. Everything had gone swimmingly and she was feeling confident that her offer will be accepted.

"No, it's fine, really. I don't mind." He said awkwardly.

"But then I will feel guilty. " she pouted "Why don't you have some chocolate donuts? They are quite famous in this shop! Besides, a nice gentleman like you won't leave an injured lady like me, will you?" 

Peter sighed and then sat on a chair across her. Jeanne ordered the dishes that would take the longest to be prepared and then settled back on her chair with a grin similar to a cat who got the canary.

"Now why don't we introduce ourselves? Hello, I am Jeanne Andrews. Nice to meet you!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"..... Peter Parker"

She arranged her expression into a mixture of shock and surprise.

"Oh what a coincidence! Are you, by any chance, a student of Midtown high?" 

"Yeah I am...."

"Great! Just the guy I wanted to meet! You see, I work as a journalist from Daily Bugle-" 

She noticed that Peters expression soured immediately on hearing that. It discouraged her a little, since it was difficult to make people talk when they were on their guard, but nevertheless she ploughed on. 

"-and I was tasked with interviewing the student who dispatched the terrorists during the shooting incident at Midtown high."

But Peter seemed genuinely puzzled. This was worrying. From what she had observed and concluded, Peter was a naive and gullible child. And he couldn't lie if his life depended on it. If he was feeling puzzled then there was something wrong with her information. 

"I...... I am not sure what you are talking about. Yes I was present during that incident but then iron man and the law enforcement saved us. How would  _I_ 'dispatch' criminals? "

She would've believed him if his words hadn't felt something from a textbook. Or something that you were made to repeat and repeat till you began believing it yourself. She seethed inwardly. When this was over, she would be sure to destroy Tony Stark for once and for all. How  _dare_ he manipulate someone like this?

"I understand that Tony Stark forbade you to talk about this one way or the other, but you can share anything with me" she said sympathetically. 

Peter frowned. "Nobody forbade me to do anything. Why would you even think that I had a hand in defeating those criminals? "

"But my inside sources tell me that you saved everybody. I've even heard from your classmates about how you were a hero."

"Don't you know that highschool students exaggerate  _literally everything_ they come across?" He looked at her with an expression that clearly conveyed  _are you mad or what?_.

"It is true that I had been taken at gunpoint by one of the terrorist but I think he was blind or something. No offence to blind people, of course. He literally had me at gupoint and he still managed to miss me and shoot at a wall. Still going to a counsellor for that, by the way. " he grimaced and shuddered.

Now it was her turn to frown. A counsellor? But why wasn't that mentioned in his file,  then? She decided to ignore it for now.

"If you talked to my classmates, then they must have told you that I am a rather average and forgettable person. Like, quite a few people don't know that there is a person named 'Peter Parker' among them."

"Don't be so modest. You are the highest scorer in your school. You've won so many science competitions and you even intern at Stark Industries! There is nothing average about you! Don't let people tell you something like that!"

"How do  _you_ know that?"

"W-well, everybody knows that you are the school topper and that you are Tony Stark's personal intern. Even with all his faults, the man is still a genius. You've to be  _really smart_ to actually catch his eye."

"How did you know that I am Mr. Stark's personal intern?" He asked suspiciously. 

"I- I asked your classmate." She stuttered, suddenly nervous. Had she said something wrong? 

"If you asked my classmate, then it is most probable that you heard about how I lied about getting an internship at SI because everybody knows that SI does not hire interns under 20. And certainly not the ones who are still in high school. So I will ask again, how did you find out that I was Mr. Stark's personal intern?" 

"Of course I asked your classmate! Why are you bein so suspicious about such a small thing? Let me tell you the name of the person I talked to. Ned Leeds."

His expression remained the same. There was no recognition in his eyes after hearing that name. Had she made a mistake in her investigation? Was Ned Leeds not his best friend? No. That can't be. She had painstakingly followed them through malls and theatres. She had patiently listened to their nerdy banter about star wars and harry potter, trying to figure out whether they were using a secret code or not. There was no way she was wrong.

"Ned Leeds. That overweight Asian boy who is your best friend?" 

No reaction except one single disbelieving eyebrow raise.

"You know, the one who is always following you around. Come on! You have star wars marathons on wednesdays and everything! Don't tell me you don't remember your best friend who helps you build lego models and what-not. If you don't, then there is some serious problem with your memory."

By now Peter's eyebrows had reached his hairlines and he looked distinctly alarmed.

"Were you  _spying_ at me?" He squeaked, his voice raising to a high pitch in horror and outrage.

Oh. My. God.

 _Now_ she understood what she had done wrong. But it was too late to salvage it with another lie. Ugh. Who knew teenagers could be this difficult to interrogate?

"Look, I admit that I haven't been completely honest with you. I had to interview you, so I tried to get all the information available about you. It is a standard procedure for every journalist so that we can ask relevant questions."

"So you decided that hacking into my school file was the best way to go about it? Miss Andrews, ever heard of 'legal ways to handle things'? It can be surprisingly effective and it has the added bonus of not earning you a term in jail if you are caught."

"Don't you think I tried that? I  _did_ try legal means of getting info on you. But what was available was not enough and the easiest way was to hack into your school file! Why don't you understand? I am just trying to help you here!"

 "What about everything else? I am pretty sure that my school file does not mention what I do in weekends and who my best friend is. And _don't_ tell me you asked my classmates, because even my classmates don't know what I do in my free time." He seemed calmer now.

 "I...." she dropped her gaze in embarrassment. There was no way she could lie now. He had completely uncovered her trap. "I observed you from afar for a few days...".

"So you hacked into my school file, 'observed' me for god knows how many days, though the exact word here is 'stalk', and you are saying that you did this for my own good? " his voice had no inclination and it worried her.

"Exactly."

"You know, every stalker says the same thing. Tell me one thing, are you really a journalist or are you just a 'lonely woman' going after minors? OH MY GOD I AM BEING STALKED BY A CRAZY WOMAN. SOMEBODY HELP ME!" He cried in hysteria and started inching away from her, looking very disturbed.

'What? '

Her face screwed up in disgust and revulsion. She couldn't believe that he would think like this about her. She quickly took out her trusted ID that had saved her from countless similar situations. It was lucky for her that the cafe was deserted, because if people had heard him, then she would be answering to the cops now (probably from the inside of a cell).

"Here. Look at this. I  _am_ a legitimate journalist. I am sorry that this has......  _discomforted_ you, and I really shouldn't have done this.... but you have to understand that it was all for justice. As an honest reporter, it is my duty to bring the truth to light, even if I have to resort to. ....  _unsavoury_ practices for that. Tony Stark did a great disservice to you and the world by taking all the credit for locking up the terrorists. The world needs to know that Tony Stark is not the self sacrificing hero they make him out to be, but an arrogant and immature person who cannot even take responsibility for anything. It's not a surprise that the avengers disbanded. Who would like to work with a narcissist like that? Besides, you deserve the fame......" she trailed off as she saw the expression on Peter's face. 

Peter was pissed. No, he was beyond pissed , and again, she wondered what she had done wrong.

"What. Did. You. Say" he asked with gritted teeth and suddenly Jeanne felt as if she had made a grave mistake in determining Peter's personality. Everything she had researched had made her believe that Peter was a naive little lamb. But right now, sitting near him, she knew that what she was dealing with was actually a venomous snake coiled to strike. 

"I...." she wasn't sure what to say.

"I told you that I had nothing to do with the capture of those terrorists and yet you still insist on reminding me of that horrible incident even when I am desperately trying to forget it. Do you want me to have a panic attack right in the middle of this cafe? How did you even get the idea that I could defeat full grown  _trained_ men. You stalked me, hacked into my personal details and I bet your  _accident_ was not much of a coincidence, yet you claim to be a honest reporter? I refuse to talk with anybody so delusional. And what did you say about Mr. Stark? Do you know how difficult it is to be a hero, saving civillian lives and still getting shit about destroyed property and being labelled a 'menace to the society'? How can you people forget so easily that the reason you are even alive to think about such things is because of heroes like him? Don't talk about things that you have no hope of understanding, it may hurt your head. And stop following me, we are done here" He made to get up.

Jeanne had trouble believing this. A young  upstart like him  _dared_ to insult her? Didn't he know that she could destroy his life and career, all in a single go? 

"If you really know what's good for you, you will sit down and listen. I am a famous journalist from a respected newspaper, and you are just a boy. No matter how smart you may be, an article or two about you, and your whole future goes down the drain." She smirked.

Peter sat back down. His face twitched into an expression that was too fast to read before it settled back to a glower. Jeanne would bet her life's savings that it was an expression of nervousness if she'd been into that sort of thing. 

"You may have accessed my personal information, but I haven't committed a single crime. There is nothing that you could use to ruin my career." 

"Yes, you really are an ideal student. It's a pity that we started off on the wrong foot..... there is nothing in your school file I could use if I wanted to write something bad about you.... but I could always....  _bend_ the truth. "

"So you are saying that you will write lies about me in your articles just because I refused to confirm to your delusions? I am pretty sure that every newspaper has this thing called fact checking. Do you really thing that your higher ups will let you print gossip and lies?" He inquired coldly.

"I am  _not_ delusional! We both know the truth so why don't you drop this charade?" Well, she did have some doubts but that law enforcement officer wouldn't lie, would he? After all,  there is nothing he would've gained from giving away false information.

"The Daily Bugle stands behind me in my pursuit to justice. Don't worry, petty things like  _proofs_ won't stop us from printing the truth. Besides, truth is all about perception anyway." 

"There is no way you can get away with this!" He exclaimed in outrage.

"Oh what will you do? You don't have enough money and power to sue us. And living with your aunt as you do, you won't want extra trouble will you? So I suggest that you do as I say. At this point, I don't even care if you saved your classmates or not. You wasted a lot of my time and now you are going to help me write an article good enough to destroy Stark. " she smirked with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Peter leaned over the table and looked dead into her eyes "Stalking a minor, cracking into my personal files, manipulating a minor, blackmailing and threatening a minor, slandering a Public figure and misuse of power. You know what? This is enough to destroy  _your_ career  _and_ land you in jail for a decade at least."

She leaned over the table, knowing that she had already won the fight and replied "You know what? I don't care. Because you have literally no proof that I did any of that. This cafe has no cameras and it is known for it's privacy. Admit your defeat and maybe I will spare your future after you help me." She laughed inwardly. So close. Her days of hardwork was finally going to payoff.

Peter sighed in defeat and then whipped up his phone. But what was the use of that? Whom would he call? And she'd never repeat a word of what she said here. If he wanted a confession then he was going to be horribly disappointed. She opened her mouth to convey her thoughts but froze immediately.

Playing on his phone, in complete clarity, was their conversation which mostly consisted of her numerous confessions and threats.

"N-nobody is going to believe that. I could easily say that it isn't my voice." She tried, and failed, to sound brave.

"Oh don't worry about that. I have a video file too. Wanna watch it?" He asked mockingly.

Jeanne shook her head mutely, defeated all too soon. She'd never thought that she'd be fooled by a teenager. And she still couldn't figure out what she did wrong. Was it something she said? Any self respecting person should jump at the chance of getting fame and recognition. Was it about Tony Stark? But shouldn't Peter be disillusioned by now? She'd heard that the kid had practically worshipped the man, but now that he had worked closely with him, shouldn't he have started hating him? She refused to believe that a narcissistic person like Tony Stark could be genuinely liked by anybody. 

"Why are you doing this? Don't you want the fame? People will  _love_ you. Your resume would get an upgrade. You'd be a  _hero._ "

"Do you think this is what this is really about?"

She opened her mouth to reply but he cut her off before she started

"'Fame' does not feed you when you are hungry, fame does not save you from terrorists. Fame does not let to live a simple, happy life. And others' opinions about me neither pays my bills nor lets me get a disease free, peaceful life. Fame is  _expensive._ The people who love me right now will hate me someday because of some fake gossip or paparazzi. People are fickle and so are their opinions. Imagine, some other accomplice of those terrorist finds out about me and decides to target my loved ones. Will  _fame_ save me then? 

Journalists are supposed to represent the truth. Is getting a juicy piece of gossip so important that you'd spread lies? Tell me, how many lives have you destroyed to get your precious readership? " Peter spat in disgust. 

Her head sank in shame. She had not felt this ashamed since a long, long time. Frustration bubbled up inside her. Who was  _he_ to bash her like this? He was just a kid. And yet his words hit her harder than anything she'd ever heard, and she'd heard a lot worse. She'd prided herself to be thick skinned and determined, and yet her will crumbled like wet tissue paper as this teen's words hit her like a freight train. She reflected on her past actions. She'd never thought about how her articles had affected others. Her focus had always been in getting maximum readership, even if it was at the cost of the truth as well as the destruction of numerous lives.

Her conscience, the one she'd squashed for years, came back at full force, filling her with guilt. She had been running after fame, when there were people running away from it. She had been so foolish. And now she was going to pay for her crimes. She now understood how her victims must've felt. Too bad that this knowledge came after  being ruined herself.

"You know, you remind me of Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter. And I can't say that it was a pleasure meeting you. Did you hack into my files by yourself or did you hire a cracker? "

"Huh?" 

"I mean, the hacking attempts were pretty lousy. They couldn't even break our school firewalls! "

"W-what do you mean? He's the best hacker in Daily Bugle!" She exclaimed in outrage before understanding the implications of his words.

"Y-you  _knew_?" She sputtered 

"Yep" he nodded cheerfully " I knew all about your abysmal hacking attempts, failed attempts at being sneaky and following me for a week and 2 days, watching me from that cafe near Midtown High, with _honest to god binoculars_ if I may add, trying to follow Happy's car and listening to Ned and I geeking over Star wars. It was pretty obvious.  By the way, Tony would've sued Daily Bugle for those hacking attempts if I hadn't stopped him."

"Then- then why didn't you stop me from accessing those files?"

"Honestly, none of this would've happened if you hadn't started stalking me. Do you  _know_ how  _creepy_ that feels? And then you insult Tony in front of me. You have a lot of information about me, so tell me, didn't you know that I don't like it when people insult Tony in front of me? He's saved my life countless of times. Hell, he's saved  _everybody's_ lives countless of times and yet you hate him because of something petty that happened  _years_ ago! I am the teenager here, then why are  _you_ being so immature?"

 Jeanne had no answer, for she was still busy processing the fact that Peter had known  _everything_ from the  _start_ , and he'd let it all play out.

"You could've easily stopped me from the start. So why didn't you? You found being followed to be creepy, and I didn't particularly enjoy it, so why didn't you just stop me?"

"If I'd told you to stop stalking me or put a restraining order on you, then would you've stopped what you were doing? " he inquired.

She shook her head, astounded. How had he predicted how she'd act?

"I thought so. I've heard about you. You hacked into my files so I figured I'd extend you the same curtesy."

Her noise of outrage died in her throat at one glare from him.

"No, you'd just find some other way to get around that restraining order, probably by invoking a favour and making one if your colleagues do the stalking. Even if your every attempt was thwarted, you'd still try to get an interview with me at your chosen setting. So I let you get your way."

'And beat me at my own game' she completed, impressed beyond herself.

"Besides, you'd never had had that bout of self reflection if you hadn't been put in a tight spot."

"So won't you take action against what I did- or tried to do? Then what's the use of going through this inconvenience? All of this was for nothing?" She asked, confused.

"Look into your mind and tell me, was all of this for nothing? You may  or may not have had a massive change of heart, but you'll always think about others before writing a hurtful article. Now that you've experienced what your victims go through, you'll never be able to forget this feeling. I never wanted to destroy your future and I believe in second chances" he smiled.

He was correct, she thought with grudging respect. Now that she'd felt that crushing despair, she'd never be able to go back to her old ways. But maybe, it was for the best. Her old ways hadn't been the best to begin with.

"Besides, if you ever feel like going unethical, then remember that I have your kryptonite. " he finished cheerfully, waving around his phone.

They were interrupted by the waitress who brought her order along with a plate of chocolate donuts. Had it been only half an hour? It felt much longer, like an eternity. Then again, changing your life goals and ideals was no joke.

"Uh I'm afraid I'll have to go now. I am guessing that your leg has healed by now" he winked as he rose up from his seat with a shrug, as though he hadn't just shaken her world , and jogged out of the shop. Well, she had a lot of thinking to do. Good thing she already bought so many desserts, she thought as she bit into her chocolate donut.

Hmmm sweet.

* * *

Peter smiled. It was true that he couldn't lie if his life depended on it, but he would to anything and everything for his loved ones, changing a person's life for the better was the least of it. This particular crisis  was averted. Now if only the bad guys decided to get a life, it would be a perfect day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watched Far From home yesterday. It. Was. AWESOME!! My headcanon of a genius Peter acting like Tony has finally become canon. Yayyyy *runs around throwing confetti and waving Irondad and Spiderson banners*
> 
> Aaand more than 6k words folks. I hope this compensated for the rather long wait😊
> 
> Kudos and comments to satisfy my hunger, please😗😗😉😉

**Author's Note:**

> How's it? Like it? Hate it? Comment and kudos please.  
> P. S. Avengers Infinity wars and endgame do not exist for me. Anybody who says otherwise will have to deal with Ultron-me. Be warned👹👹


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